Handrail stairway ramp



March 21, 1961 A. HELGESON 2,975,877

HANDRAIL STAIRWAY RAMP Filed Oct. 7, 1958 INVENTOR. ANDREW Hzwssou United States Patent. f

HANDRAIL STAIRWAY Andrew Helgeson, 418 E. Madison, Rapid City, S. Dab, assignor of one-tenth to Gadget-Of-The-Month Club, Inc., North Hollywood, Calif a corporation of Cahfornia Filed Oct. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 765,900

2 Claims. (Cl. 193-41) This invention relates to material handling apparatus and more particularly to a ramp for stairways.

It is an object of the invention to provide a combination hand rail and stairway ramp assembly that is selectively rotatable between a ramp position and a hand rail position so as to conveniently serve the purpose of a material handling unit and a safety hand rail device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination hand rail and stairway ramp that serves as a hand rail when in an erected position and serves as a ramp when in a flat position to facilitate the movingof the equipment and downwardly along the stairway.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a hand rail stairway ramp bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and eflicient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a hand rail stairway ramp device made in accordance with the present invention in operative use, in an erected hand rail use position;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the assembly shown in Figure 1 with the device in the collapsed ramp disposed position;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in Figure 2.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a combined hand rail stairway ramp assembly made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a pair of laterally spaced apart and longitudinally parallel boards 14 secured in spaced apart parallel relationship by a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart and transversely parallel tie members 12 that are in the form of inverted channel shaped iron bars. These channel irons are secured to the under surface of the boards 14 so that the upper surfaces thereof define a continuous smooth surface upon which heavy loads may be slidably supported.

Hinge blocks 16 are secured to the under surface of one of the boards 14 adjacent to one side edge of the frame for supporting strap hinges 18 that aresecured to the outer side of the far or most remote side longitudinal structural member 20 on the far side of the stairway shown in Fig. l and comprising one of a conventional pair of such side longitudinal structural members extending along each side of the stairway between the basement floor 26 and the upper landing 24 and mounting a plurality of ascending horizontal parallel stair treads 22 therebetween in a conventional manner. The lowermost edge of both boards 14 is tapered so as to provide an inclined surface 28 for fiat face engagement with the basement floor 26 when the ramp is in one position overarticles upwardly and idownw'a'rdly there along. When the device nfot beingftused 'as ?a ramp, it is rotated to -a second upright position, shown in Figure 1, wherein a hand rail 30 secured to the upper surface of the other one of the boards 14 serves as a safety hand rail for persons walking up and down the steps. This hand rail 30 also serves to secure the articles being moved up and down the ramp upon the frame, thus guiding such heavy articles along the entire length of the frame when in the first position, for use as a ramp. Even when the device is in the ramp position, it is possible for persons to walk up and down the stairway along the free side thereof or in the space between the parallel boards 14.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A handrail stairway ramp comprising, in combination, a flat rigid rectangular frame having a slide surface on one flat side and consisting of a pair of laterally spaced-apart and longitudinally parallel boards, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart and transversely parallel tie members on the undersides of and securing said boards in said parallel position, hinge means con sisting of a plurality of hinge blocks secured to one side edge of said frame .and a corresponding strap hinge integrally secured to each of said hinge blocks and pivotally supporting said frame upon a side longitudinal structural member of a stairway for selective movement between one position in a first plane overlying the treads of the stairway and a second upright position lying in a plane extending substantially normal to said first plane and at one side of the treads of the stairway, and a combination load guide and handrail member integral with the opposite side edge of said frame and lying in a plane substantially normal to the plane of said frame and projecting vertically above said slide surface when said frame is in said first plane to comprise a longitudinal upwardly projecting load guide along the edge of the slide surface and movable to an elevated position above the level of and at one side of the stairway treads in response to rotation of said frame to said second upright position to comprise an outwardly projecting handrail along the top of the frame.

2. A handrail stairway ramp comprising, in combination, a stairway including a pair of laterally spaced side longitudinal structural members provided with and carrying therebetween a plurality of laterally directed parallel vertically and horizontally spaced stairway treads, a fiat rigid rectangular frame having a slide surface on one fiat side and consisting of a pair of laterally spaced-apart and longitudinally parallel boards, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart and transversely parallel tie members of substantially U-shaped channel-type construction in cross-section mounted on the undersides of and securing said boards insaid parallel position, hinge means c0nsisting of a plurality of hinge blocks secured to one side edge of said frame and a corresponding strap hinge integrally secured to each of said hinge blocks and integrally secured to and pivotally supporting said frame upon the outer side of one of said side longitudinal structural members of the stairway for selective movement between one position in a first plane overlying the treads of the stairway and a second upright position lying in a plane extending substantially normal to said first plane and at one side of the treads of the stairway, and a combination load guide and handrail member integral with the opposite side edge of said frame and lying in a plane substantially normal to the plane of said frame and projecting ver- Patented 'Mar. 21, 1961 3 1 4 tically above said slide surface when said frame is in "said References Cited in the file of this patent first plane to comprise a longitudinal upwardly projecting UNITED STATES PATENTS load guide along the edge of the slide surface and movable to an elevated position above the level of and at one 479,533 Schultz July 26, 1892 side of the stairway treads in response-to rotation of said 5 493,549 Hallock M y 1 frame to said second upright position to comprise an out- 1,221,156 Dotson Apr. 3, 1917 wardly projecting handrail along the top of the frarne. 2,603,529 Troth et a1. July 15, 1952 

